Equestria is a peaceful land inhabited by sentient ponies. Quarrelling and conflict are quite rare, and actual violence is even rarer.

There are four confirmed types of ponies in Equestria:

Earth ponies are known for their connection to the land, being able to grow food and cook it with better quality than other ponies. They are also known for being slightly stronger as well.

Pegasi can fly, and they can handle clouds like they were solid objects. The majority of pegasi help control Equestria's weather, and a lot of them also work as couriers due being able to cover more ground in a day than other ponies.

Unicorns have a horn on their head which allows for the use of magic. The first bit of magic a unicorn will learn is usually a telekinesis spell. You can tell if unicorn magic is being used, as their horn and all affected objects will be surrounded with a visible magical aura.

In game terms, all unicorn magic has Noticeable: Aura glows around horn and affected objects.

And finally, there are alicorns. They are immediately recognisable as such due to having both a pegasus' wings and an unicorn's horn with enhanced magical ability. All four known alicorns are also considered Princesses, and they are all considered to have earned their title. In short, if you should ever encounter one, show respect!

What the Griffin and Ms. Magus don't know yet, is that the title also means that ponies in a foreign land tend to want a local Friend as a guide if the area has any who are willing, and otherwise tend to defer to one when trying to understand a local situation.

People:

Princess Celestia: Ruler of Equestria. Princess Celestia's job is to move the sun and watch over Equestria during the day. She is powerful enough that everypony will swear their oaths in her name. For example: 'As Celestia is my witness!'

Princess Luna: Princess Celestia's sister. Her job is to raise the moon and watch over Equestria at night. She was once so feared, that Equestria's version of Halloween was named after her name at the time, Nightmare Moon. She also has the ability to enter someone's dreams, usually to offer much-needed advice.

Places:

Canterlot (CC, GC): The capital and physical centre of Equestria. The most notable building is Canterlot Castle, the official residence of Princesses Celestia and Luna. It also stores the Elements of Harmony, the six most powerful magical artefacts in all of Equestria. Only a pony who embodies the Element in question can use it at all; and to the best of everypony's knowledge, there are only six known ponies who can use them, one per Element. The majority of citizens are upper-class unicorns.

Cloudsdale: This pegasus city, some 10,000 feet above sea level, manages the weather in Equestria. It is made almost entirely of clouds. It's also home to the Wonderbolts, the Equestrian air force. Any non-pegasi must have a "Cloud-walk" spell cast on them before travel. Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, is from here, but she currently lives in Ponyville.

Everfree Forest (BC): At the southern edge of Ponyville, the Everfree Forest contains various creatures, including dragons, hydras, timberwolves (wolves that are actually made out of timber) and cockatrices (sometimes called slither-hens by ponies). Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, lives in a cottage on the forest's edge. The path next to her cottage leads to Zecora, a zebra herbalist known for always speaking in rhyme.

Ponyville: This town, located southwest of Canterlot, has an about-equal mix of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns. The current bearers of the Elements of Harmony are usually found around here. Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter, works for the Cake family at the Sugarcube Corner Bakery. Rarity, the Element of Generosity lives and works at the Carousel Boutique, making dresses. Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic lives in the Golden Oak Library.

Sweet Apple Acres: This farm on the outskirts of Ponyville is also Equestria's premier apple orchard, famous for its rainbow-coloured Zap Apples. It's currently run by Applejack, the Element of Honesty.

Last edited by betterwatchit on Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:58 pm, edited 7 times in total.

The Lor Republic is a star-spanning civilization in the Milky Way, including hundreds of worlds.

The most surprising thing about the Republic from Earth's point of view is that humans are the dominant species! The Lor are descendants of humans taken from Earth tens of thousands of years ago by aliens known as the Preservers, whose artefacts can still be found (ask Megastar of the Freedom League, he'll tell you).

They also acknowledge the authority of the Star Knights, an intergalactic peace force who each wear a distinctive set of armour, and who have a mild rivalry with the Green Lantern Corps.

Their mortal enemies are the Grue Unity, xenophobic shapeshifting aliens who want to conquer and rule over every inhabited world. It is quite rare for a Grue to go rogue, but it's certainly possible.

Pseudo of the Freedom League is the prime example of a rogue Grue.

Last edited by betterwatchit on Tue Oct 08, 2013 7:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

There are various ways to obtain powers in the Betterverse. They're usually divided into five known categories...

Magic: All powers that can be considered "supernatural" fall into this category. It could be due to being born as part of a race that can use magic (Examples include Ms. Magus and Zatanna, both part of the homo magi.), making a trade with a supernatural being for power (The classic Faustian Pact is one famous example, but becoming the willing servant of a deity is often the least dangerous version of the trade, particularly if said deity is actually friendly toward mortals. The Griffin of London and Sakura Fubuki are heroic examples of the latter.) or a supernatural being simply granting power for whatever reasons they see fit (The Dragoneye legacy is a good example of this type of empowerment).

Mutation: There are those who were simply born with abilities which set them apart from the rest of humanity, or they could be latent, simply needing the right sort of 'spark' to burst into life. These abilities can sometimes make it impossible to pass for normal in public (Rocky Jones) or they could be the sort where you wouldn't know that someone has them until they're actually being used in front of you (Princess).

Natural: This sort of hero usually has no powers but a lot of training and equipment (Batman, The Rook) or they're a member of a race whose superhuman abilities come naturally (Superman, Xeno).

Science: Powers obtained this way could be due to an accident (The Flash and Vortex) or due to a successful experiment (Victor Prophet).

The DNAscent Process is one way to obtain powers by scientific means.

Technology: Some heroes decide to build technological devices, such as battlesuits (Ultramarine) to gain an edge in battle. Others may actually be androids or gynoids, technology given human shape (Kid Robot).

Last edited by betterwatchit on Sun Dec 29, 2013 11:27 am, edited 4 times in total.

The being considered to be the most "in tune" with magic in a particular world is called the Master Mage. There can be only one Master Mage at a time on any given world. It takes insight, power and skill to be a candidate. In some worlds, a contest is held to determine the new Master Mage. In others, the choice is very clear. Being recognised as Master Mage is a separate matter, although the exercise of such power is difficult to deny.

A portentous choice falls upon the shoulders of the Master Mage, perhaps the most important in the universe. Connected with the primal mystic forces of their reality, a Master Mage can choose to become the steward and guardian of the universe, safeguarding it from any and all threats, or the Master Mage can choose to grab hold of those forces, bending and shaping them to become the master of that universe, what has become known throughout the mystic dimensions as a Dark Lord. And there are few things as tempting as the power to rule over a universe.

Attempting to become the Dark Lord of Earth will almost certainly have every other magician in the world as well as most superhumans going after whoever's foolish enough to try...

Earth's previous Master Mage, Adrian Eldrich, appears to have resigned. The race is now on to discover who will claim his post.

Likely candidates who are able to become Earth's Master Mage (in no particular order):

There are always those who are willing to commit all sorts of violence for payment. This is but a short list of the sort of people who can be hired to do something from the messy to the lethal.

Key: (P): Mostly Psycho. (S): Mostly Sane.

Bolt (S): Larry Bolatinsky used his skills as a SFX technician to create his Bolt suit, establishing himself as one of the underworld's top assassins. The suit affords him enhanced protection, flight, teleportation and the ability to electrocute his opponent. His code of honour boils down to: Do no freebies outside of self-defence, stay bought if treated fairly or ensure the employer's death if they betray, lie or otherwise deliberately mistreat you as a warning to others.

Cheshire (P): Jade Nguyen is a specialist in hand-to-hand combat and poisons, preferring to coat fake razor-sharp fingernails with poison. Black Canary once called her the second-greatest assassin in the world (with Lady Shiva taking the top slot). She gained history-making notoriety when she stole several nuclear weapons with the aid of Deathstroke in order to blackmail the world. To prove that she wasn't bluffing, she detonated one of the bombs in Qurac, a small Middle-Eastern country. To this day, she is one of the few people on Earth who has a body count in the millions.

Coda (S): Jaime Hernandez specialises in killing superhumans, and in using sonic weaponry. His literally bringing the house down on the cape called Ghosthawk cemented his reputation. Anyone going up against him should know that he doesn't care about a method being "overkill", not when he kills capes for a living.

Deadshot (S): Floyd Lawton is one of Earth's greatest marksmen. He prefers to design and make his own firearms, and he also has a knack for surviving deadly encounters, despite his best efforts to go out in a blaze of glory.

Deathstroke (P): Slade Wilson was a soldier in the U.S. Army, when he received some experimental adrenal serums as part of a super-soldier program. He once managed a near-TPK on the Justice League, but failed when Green Arrow put an arrow in his right (already blind) eye, triggering a berserker rage. Of all the people listed in this post, his family issues are tied for the most screwed-up along with Cheshire's.

Jade Spider (P): James Jian Kar Fei prefers to use his Jade Spider Style (of which he is the sole surviving practioner, by dint of having killed everyone else to have practiced it) against other martial artists.

Kid Karma (S): Xian Hsui AKA John Soo is a crack shot, whose power of probability manipulation makes him a force to be reckoned with. What gives him an edge is the Wujen ritual he performs every sunset, which ensures that his guns never run out of ammo. He basically has an 'infinite ammo' cheat that works in real life!

Killshot (S): Killshot is believed to be ex-Mossad, which alone would make her formidable. The fact that she has superhuman agility and is also a crack shot makes most people worried when she's after them.

Lady Shiva (S): Sandra Wu-San is one of the few people to leave Ra's Al Ghul's League of Assassins and survive the experience intact. She is considered by most who know her to be the world's greatest living martial artist, which is something that not even the likes of Batman or the second Raven can claim. She has helped train The Question (Vic Sage) and Batman.

Lady Vic (S): Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton is a world-class assassin descended from a long line of soldiers and mercenaries. She works for the money because her aristocratic British family is rich with titles and honours, but poor in cold, hard cash. The commissions she earns pay to keep her ancestral estate from being foreclosed on, and her family dishonoured.

Lobo (P - and how!): This intergalactic bounty-hunter is known throughout the universe as one hardcore son-of-a-bitch! Rumour has it that it's impossible to kill him.

The rumour is true to the point that both Heaven and Hell have barred Lobo from ever entering their realms again. Anyone with Lobo after them had better think of a way to convince him to leave them alone.

Orion the Hunter (P): Jack O'Ryan honed his skills by hunting big and dangerous game around the world. He had mastered the hunt so well, that the only way he could still have a good hunt was to hunt humans and then he moved up to superhumans. He has a major beef with Lady Liberty, who was the first target he ever failed to kill.

Recall (S): Due to his photographic reflexes, he prefers to fight martial artists and weapon-users. The one encounter he has had with Lady Shiva is considered to be one of the most viewed fights on-line of all time.

Most superhumans follow some code of honour, or at least understand the need for there to be standards. Here are a few of the most well followed codes:

Hero's Code: Fight fairly against your adversaries, even if they won't do the same. Avoid using firearms and other conventional weapons if you don't specialise in them - you use your training or your powers instead. Don't allow bystanders to come to harm, even if you have to risk your own life to ensure their safety. Keep your word. Don't kill a sentient being if there's any alternative. Co-operate with the local authorities - if they're known not to be corrupt of course! (This code is usually called the Four-Colour Code by its critics, and doing so reveals what the speaker thinks of it.)

Magician's Code: Do not teach magic to or otherwise allow magical artefacts to fall into the hands of someone who would use such things for selfish gain. Use magic to protect and heal others, and for the good of all. Never allow a magic-using criminal to prosper. Ensure that the knowledge of magic is passed to future generations. (This code is followed by most magicians with even the slightest concern for ethics or standards. A magician who doesn't follow this code is called a warlock, and most warlocks are crazy enough that killing them on sight is considered a legitimate reaction.)

Punisher's Code: Harm no civilians. Lethal force is only an option against other killers, and even that must be dealt in as quick and painless a manner as possible. Do not allow a criminal to get away with their crimes. (Most anti-heroes follow this code.)

"Staying Bought": Your employer must know where they stand with you for the length of the contract, including what will happen if they fail to pay you on time. DO NOT betray your employer unless they have betrayed, deceived or mistreated you first. If they have, you must make them suffer for it, and tell everyone in your field what they've done to deserve it. (This code is usually followed by assassins, mercenaries and truly professional criminals, and those in that last category are few and far between.)

Villain's Code: Honour the letter of your word if freely given - so long as you're not betrayed! Let no insult go unavenged. Show respect to opponents who actually put up a good fight. Slay fallen foes quickly and painlessly. NEVER suffer a traitor to live! (Plenty of masterminds follow this code.)

Last edited by betterwatchit on Sat Feb 22, 2014 2:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

As well as North America, Europe also has a tradition of superhumans, both heroic and villainous alike. This is but a short list of the more heroic types on the Continent.

France:

Chanteclair: Chanteclair uses his sound-based powers to protect Paris. His trademark move is a cockerel's crow that can paralyse just about anyone in earshot. He's been effective to the point that the sound of a cockerel's crowing will make any Frenchman who's done something really wrong a bit paranoid.

Martin Matin: Martin is a schoolkid who wakes up as something different every day. For example, he's been confirmed to have been transformed into an alien, a dragon, a musketeer, and even as a paragon-type superhero. Each transformation of his lasts until the next morning.

The main problem that Martin has with his transformation, is that he often ends up in a dangerous situation which has something to do with what he's currently become and which usually requires his wits and whatever skills and powers his transformation has given him to get back out of it. And when Martin doesn't transform, it's because his circumstances have changed. For example, the second incident of Martin being 'normal' again turned out to be him becoming really unlucky.

He has no control at all over what he becomes, and he has even been gender-swapped on two occasions (He returned to being a boy again the next morning). In fact, the first recorded transformation made Martin part-dragon! The biggest psychological issue that Martin has is that he perceives the transformation as a form of unique handicap. What he wants the most is either no more transformations, or some way to control them.

He is helped by his girlfriend Roxanne and his best friend, Gromo. They will follow him anywhere, from a witch's apartment, to alien worlds and even to the depths of Hell if need be.

Which actually happened once when Martin woke up as a demon one morning, complete with a Martin-sized Abyssal Trident next to his bed. At school, he found a lift that allowed him to access the Pit. He was given a contract to sign, the offer for which was simple: No more transformations. A succubus who was disguised as Roxanne was convincing Martin to sign the contract, not knowing that the real Roxanne was watching the deal from an air vent. NO ONE was taking her Martin, especially not some demonic impostor! She burst out of the vent and grabbed the succubus by her tail, the sight of which - and Roxanne's telling Martin what he was really giving away in exchange - left him with no other choice but to reject the bargain before it could be signed. The chase back to the lift - and their only chance to safely get back to Earth - was the fastest that the three kids ever ran in their lives.

Everyone in Paris who wants to keep their presence in the city a secret is worried that Martin's next transformation will require them to deal with him. Half because they run the risk of exposure just trying to keep him from messing with their agenda, and half because they don't want to be seen breaking the Traditions by harming a child, which will likely have every super in the world after them.

Martin has gotten used to dealing with the supernatural, having literally been to Hell and back, and even encountering the Pesedjet (Egyptian pantheon) and the Dodekatheon (Greco-Roman pantheon) on separate occasions.

La Pucelle (The Maid): This master swordswoman wields the arming sword believed to have been originally used by Joan of Arc.

La Sorcière Verte (The Green Witch): The Green Witch (Who refuses to reveal her real name) is well known in the occult scene for her occasional experiments with techno-magic. She once encountered Martin Matin when he was turned into a witch himself for the day. She kept his flying broomstick as compensation for accidentally breaking her window, and has since gotten it under control. She is known to be one of the admins for MagicNet, the most popular website, forum and wiki for magicians around the world.

Germany:

Geselle (Journeyman): This speedster triggered his metagene just before his journeyman years in electrical engineering. After he completed his two-year Walz, the Deutsch Schutz Liga - Germany's most well-known superteam - invited him to join them. His weapon of choice is his old Journeyman's Staff. He has a major beef with Blitz, the Neo-Nazi speedster, for making Germany look bad.

Tabaluga: This friendly dragon is known all over Germany because of the TV show he did with ZDF. He often helps nearby firemen, who are very grateful to know someone who's completely flameproof for the really dangerous rescues.

United Kingdom:

Faceoff: Faceoff is an armed vigilante in the mould of the Punisher. He has recently discovered that the 3rd Street Saints are expanding into London, and that they're dealing in super-drugs. He spread the word to the Time in a Bottle website that very night.

Knight and Squire: Cyril Sheldrake is the second person to assume the mantle of the Knight, and is considered to be Britain's greatest hero. Beryl Hutchinson used her communication powers to get Cyril to turn his life around when he couldn't handle the responsibility of the Knight's legacy. She was made the new Squire for her efforts. The Knight has been an ally of Batman on several occasions.

NOTE: The vast majority of European supers, whether or not they're heroic or villainous in nature, will absolutely refuse to cut a deal with or otherwise work alongside anyone known to be a Fascist or Communist of any sort under any circumstances. The only supers known to work with Fascists or Communists at all are those who are also motivated by the same form of extremism. And extremism is the only word that the European supers all willingly use for such beliefs.

Last edited by betterwatchit on Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:19 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Some of the world's most-desired magical artefacts are weapons that have been enchanted or are otherwise able to kill beings that a conventional weapon of the same type cannot. Here is a list of some unique weapons that may be encountered.

Ace of Winchesters: This Winchester lever-action rifle was made by a mystic who saw service with the Texas Rangers during the days of the Wild West. He saw that the idea of "Manifest Destiny" and the genocide that it brought to the prairie had spawned... things that could not be fought with mortal weapons, not with the Indian's tomahawk nor with the white man's revolver. The mystic sold his soul for the expertise and means to forge a gun from halosteel and Hades-gems, bound with ivory of saints, that could blast the life out of fiends. It was last seen in possession of Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan of Gotham City, but since he's been dead for more than a decade, no one knows where the Ace went. Anyone who finds the Ace - and its enchanted bandolier - would certainly be in possession of a deadly weapon indeed.

Justice is the name that some people have taken to calling the sword that's currently wielded by the Griffin of London. It is forged out of pure halosteel, allowing it to strike spirits and other intangible beings like they were solid. It also possesses a mono-molecular edge, capable of cutting through tank armour... or superhuman flesh. The grip and balance seem to be absolutely perfect for the Griffin, as he has been proven able to inflict mortal wounds where an ordinary swordsman would barely scratch their target.

Moonslayer & Sunslayer: These original model Colt Peacemakers were enchanted in the 19th century. Moonslayer is designed to fire silver bullets, and Sunslayer is designed to fire wooden bullets that explode into flames upon impact. Both revolvers have had both an Affects Insubstantial (Full Effect) and an "Infinite Ammo" enchantment placed on them.

Spellblade: This sword currently belongs to the Red Mage of the Golders Green Guardians. He personally enchanted it with the ability to deal elemental damage and to strike more telling blows than before.

Three-Flames Katana: Lord Tegamusha created this katana at the start of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, forging it in fires fed by the bodies of 300 Chinese prisoners and tempered in their blood. The blade gained infamy in its use against soldiers and innocents alike until Tegamusha himself was slain by a sniper’s bullet in 1895. The current wielder is Kimiko Ranaga, the current Crimson Katana, who is trying to keep her father from possessing her. Her father, the second Crimson Katana, enchanted the sword to store his spirit, ready to possess his daughter if she uses the blade to draw blood or if she suffers a moment of mental weakness (as in badly failing a Will check).

The Guardians are one of the more well-known London-based teams, with most of them being powered by supernatural means.

They are the main reason London has much fewer supernatural nasties like vampires and cultists running around compared to other major cities, as the team's usual method when they encounter such threats is to give them exactly one chance to surrender or die, and most of their opponents are arrogant enough to think they can take them. They usually allow just one survivor so they can go and tell the rest of their kind just who did this to them, and also to say that London is off-limits to all who would dare exploit the occult for petty and selfish ends, or who would dare prey upon the innocent. Even the Ministry of Powers knows to call them if anything "weird" pops up.

The Ministry of Powers actually has an... understanding with the Guardians. The Guardians help the Ministry with the supernatural whenever they ask, and in return, the Ministry tends to be more understanding when the Guardians kill a supernatural threat. The Ministry is fully aware that some threats that the Guardians fight just can't listen to reason at all, to the point that killing them is often the only effective way to prevent them from threatening the country. The Guardians know that they have a good thing going, and aren't about to give the Ministry any reason to doubt them.

The last time a necromancer was crazy enough to hit London, he had the idea of first going south-west to Brookwood in Surrey, which has Britain's largest cemetery, in order to raise a large enough horde of zombies to start with. The Guardians made absolutely sure that there was nothing left of him but ashes, in order to prevent him from coming back.

Group Members

Dr. Jane Green is their leader and scientist. She has the metahuman ability of an enhanced nervous system, which allows her to think and react faster than normal. An Oxford lady who graduated with distinction, she particularly likes to stick it to any supers from Cambridge.The Ministry are a bit nervous about her habit of vivisecting any non-human threat who she takes alive, but they don't argue with the fact that she knows more about supernatural biology than anyone else on Earth.

Michael Cohen AKA The Golem is the team's powerhouse. He wears an enchanted amulet that allows the wearer become as large and as strong as the Golem of Jewish legend. From his early days as a higher-grade yob, he knows what's going on in London's underworld.

Sakura Fubuki was empowered as a priestess by no less than Amaterasu Omikami, the most well-known and most respected of the Amatsukami (Japanese pantheon). As a result, Sakura has control over light to the point where she can bend light to become invisible or simply create daylight out of nowhere, even at midnight. She also serves as the team's mythology specialist. She was quite surprised when the Griffin of London managed to be the first to prove that pegasi and unicorns do exist andmake it a matter of public record.

Spindle was attacked and turned into a drider against her will, and she wants a word with whoever was responsible. She serves the team as their stealth expert. She can assume human form, but she must be in her drider form for 12 consecutive hours a week to maintain any control over her transformation.

The Red Mage is a rare hybrid of being both an elemental magician and an expert swordsman. His enchanted sword is called Spellblade, and he can deal elemental damage with it and deal more lethal blows than usual.